AVAC Report 2019: Now What?

Each year, the AVAC Report frames the most pressing advocacy issues facing the HIV response. At the threshold of 2020, it’s clear that global goals for HIV prevention will miss the mark by a long shot. Though important progress has been made, the crisis UNAIDS called out in 2016 persists today with new infections around 1.7 million annually, a far cry from the 2020 target of fewer than 500,000. So, we asked ourselves, Now What?, and answered with cross-cutting analysis and an advocacy agenda to match.

For more from the report, including a link to all its graphics, visit report.avac.org. A one-pager of AVAC’s 2020 priorities is also available.

The Dapivirine Ring: Key learnings from like-product introductions

Vaginal insertion and partial efficacy are two challenges that could affect the uptake and continued use of the dapivirine ring. Analyses of the introductions of other products that share similar characteristics provide useful lessons to inform planning for rollout of the dapivirine ring. This paper provides information for planners, implementers, funders, researchers, trainers, providers of technical assistance and others to build an agenda for introducing the dapivirine ring that addresses these two challenges.

Contraceptive Eligibility for Women at High Risk of HIV Guidance Statement

WHO released updated guidance on “Hormonal Contraceptive Eligibility for Women at High Risk of HIV”. The WHO updated guidance shifts DMPA, other progestogen-only injectables and IUDs to a MEC 1 classification, which states that the products can be used without restriction. The updated WHO recommendations follow a thorough review of the latest scientific evidence, including the recent results of the ECHO trial, which evaluated whether the risk of HIV differs with the use of three different safe and effective contraceptive methods.

Translating Progress into Success to End the AIDS Epidemic

Dramatic reductions in HIV incidence and mortality have been accomplished in very different settings around the world, from Malawi and Thailand to London and San Francisco. While success was achieved in different ways in each location, taken together they demonstrate the gains that can be realized on a global scale.

This publication highlights six locations — Thailand, Malawi, Rakai, New South Wales, London, and San Francisco — that have made impressive progress against the epidemic. Each visual provides an HIV surveillance timeline as well as crucial policy changes—inflection points—that contributed to success.

Global Investment in HIV Cure Research and Development in 2018

In 2014, the HIV Vaccines and Microbicides Resource Tracking Working Group and AVAC began a collaboration with the International AIDS Society’s (IAS) Towards an HIV Cure initiative. AVAC, Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the IAS brought together a group to review and allocate grants towards HIV cure research and analyze data on global funding. The working group released a report in July 2019, Global Investment in HIV Cure Research and Development in 2018.

As per findings, US$323.9 million was invested in cure research in 2018, representing a 12 percent increase over the US$288.8 million invested in 2017. Compared to the US$88.1 million invested in 2012, this is a 268 percent increase. The public sector accounted for the majority of funding, with the remaining US$19.7 million invested by philanthropies such as Aidsfonds, amfAR, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CANFAR, Institut Pasteur, Sidaction and Wellcome Trust.

HIV Prevention Research & Development Investments 2018: Investing to end the epidemic

This annual accounting of funding for biomedical HIV prevention research tracks trends and identifies gaps in investment. The report indicates an uptick after five consecutive years of declining investment. In 2018, funding for HIV prevention R&D increased by a modest 1.2 percent or US$13 million from the previous year, growing to US$1.14 billion. While the increase is encouraging, it’s the smallest net increase since 2003.

Click here for the full archive of past resource tracking reports.

The ECHO Trial Results: Time to Act

In this episode of Px Pulse. we take a look the results of the ECHO study and what they mean from several angles. Leaders of the trial, formally called Evidence for Contraceptive options in HIV Outcomes, announced study findings in mid-June. ECHO found no substantial difference in HIV acquisition among women using one of three highly effective contraceptive methods in the study: DMPA-IM, the copper IUD, the LNG implant).

Understanding the Results of the ECHO Study

A comprehensive guide to interpreting the results of the ECHO Study. Includes concise information on the study’s background, design and results, and a full section on next steps such as the WHO process for updating its guidance and what advocates can do to get involved.

A Roadmap for Results: Understanding the ECHO Study Results

On June 13, FP2020 and AVAC held a webinar, A Roadmap for Results: Understanding the ECHO Study Results, with the ECHO team following the results announcement. The webinar explained the trial, provided topline results, outlined next steps, and offered key advocacy messages to help all stakeholders understand the findings.

Watch here.

The ECHO Trial: Preparing for action

In this episode of Px Pulse, AVAC spoke with two leaders from the ECHO trial team, Dr. Jared Baeten and Dr. Helen Rees, to understand what the trial can and cannot tell us. And you’ll hear leading women’s advocates from several countries where the ECHO trial took place share their demands. Carry what you learn forward as the ECHO trial raises the volume on an urgent conversation—how to empower African women around their sexual and reproductive health.